Forever Is a Number
by lil kagome 15
Summary: Teaser: One minute was all she had she gathered all her courage and began to scream at the top of her lungs. “Uchiha Sasuke, you return my undergarments this instant!”[S&S][complete]


**Title: **Forever Is a Number

**Rating: **T (pg;13)

**Author: **lil kagome

**Date of Creation: **March 22, 2007

**Dedication: **This is dedicated to someone very close to me whom I hope will forgive me for an appalling mistake I have made.

**Disclaimer: **I claim nothing other but the plot, everything else go ahead and take credit for.

There was something within her heart that made her want to cry, something she tried so desperately to fight. Sakura had been a Junin for nearly a year now, at the imperative age of seventeen. She was struggling to attain that last bit of strength from her past, and she growled as she tried her very best to concentrate on the parchment she was meant to tally her losses on.

Six months. That's all it had taken for her to be torn from her path as a spectator. He had been gone for six months when she had finally began to understand this strength she had all too often ignored. She began to adjust herself to its growth, praying for its nurtured existence and hoping for its essential effectiveness.

Sasuke had returned not long after their meet with death in the home of hidden sound. She had recovered only briefly before she had learned of the successful aptitude. She had been praised in four different languages on the day of Jounin exams, and she had been astounded by the mass loyalty to the cause and the return of the Uchiha prodigy.

Seven days. That's all she had to wait to know the punishment of her comrade. She watched as he was harshly confined and placed in a central judgment house. She had called for a stop, but her pleas were never regarded as significant. On June third of the following month she was informed of his release, and began to live a separate life.

Her eyes had kept a close eye on the man who had once faltered in his path to surpass his brother. Her eyes were the only thing to ever catch him, fault him, or separate him. She was the only one who still remembered his disloyalty and found herself wanting to reach out in the same.

Two months. That's what it took to let her to trust. She began to call out to him in an alley, and offer her regards on special occasions. She found herself behind a wall, focusing only on her missions to reprimand her constant fixation of him. She remained in passing, only regarding him as her penitence in the world of ninja.

She had remained soundless through her initiation to the ANBU, calmly bearing in mind her captain was her long since friend and foe. She responded to his absence with fear as she searched the camp scarily with her arms swinging dejectedly at her sides. She knew he'd be there, at the end of the row, his face hidden by his mask. What had it been? Five years. She sighed as she pushed him, not even making him flinch.

One second. That's all it would take her to snap, her heart pounding as she punched him in the jaw, not bothering to apologize as he smirked down at her. She knew he had wanted this, her voice being the one thing she could ever deprive him of. "Jerk!" She wailed as she shoved him again, causing him to lean down and face her emerald green eyes.

"Need something?" He asked and she growled in anger as he smirked once more at her mounting anger, his eyes playing on every second of her annoyance. He watched her shoulders straighten, her jaw becoming clenched as she tried to make her actions subtle.

One minute was all she had; she gathered all her courage and began to scream at the top of her lungs. "Uchiha Sasuke, you return my undergarments this instant!" She yelled, suddenly aware of the many other males present within the camp. She blushed frantically, her eyes closing as Sasuke let out a deep, patronizing, laugh. He pushed her toward his tent, and she let out a highly-pitched yelp.

She sat alone inside her captain's tent, her face placed atop her knees as she took another deep breath of air. Two hours prior to this degrading incident she had been working alone, ignoring all presence of Uchiha Sasuke as she began to wonder just what it was she had been missing in her all but empty life. She had been instructed to tally the amount of money they had exhausted since their leave from Kanoha. She had placated the team with many intricacies along their way, and was becoming rather lost at the amount of money they had invalidated from their earnings. She had been devastated to find that they had exceeded nearly three grand.

One day, that's all it was. Everything changed as she had counted their earn over yet again, sitting alone in front of the empty tent's. The rest of the team had gone out hours before to scout, and she was left to guard the facilities and remain rather watchful of the enemy tracings. She had thought herself alone until Sasuke had come walking from her left, carrying some more wood to kindle the dieing fire. She had been rapt when he came forward, flicking her in the forehead as if it were an everyday occurrence. "Take a break." He said, walking off again as she became increasingly agitated.

"What do you mean take a break? I've hardly started recounting our finances, and as I can see we are going to have to cut back drastically to survive this expenditure." He smirked at her as he entered his tent, handing her a metal box when he emerged. "What's this?" She had asked with an arched brow, her eyes searching his for some sign of interest. She opened the lid, seeing more than two grand lying within the contents. "You've been holding the money?" He just walked away, ignoring her anger at his distrust.

One month, that was all it had taken for him to get fed up with her constant discernment. He had called her bluff long ago, and had made sure to forego any oddities in his own behavior. He had pressed them all to her, knowing just where she would bend the easiest, and using it harshly to his advantage. He had taken up duties specifically reserved to her, and had finally succeeded in trapping her. He had done the laundry, knowing very clearly that she slept in nearly nothing. He had detained her clothes until she was forced to step out of her tent in only a long t-shirt. He was impressed with her gall, and had merely toyed with her emotions a little longer.

"Care to tell me why you stole my underwear?" She asked in a whispered frustration as he entered the tent. She looked rather pretentious as she cocked her head in restrained fury and placed one hand beneath her chin, looking at him in mock ignorance. He smirked down at her once more, causing her to flush.

One derisory moment, that's all he had wanted from her. Just one second of her consideration. He had long since returned to the village, and only wished for her to remain as contentious as she had been in her search for him. Unfortunately after she had taken the fall before him she had fallen unconscious, and never got to see the look of total fury within his eyes. He had killed Orochimaru then, ignoring the pain within his side as he gathered chakra to his famous chidori. That was the only reason for his discharge from the congested penitentiary. He was given clemency due to his defiance of the enemy, and his helping to bring the beast down.

"Look at me." He said and she raised her eyes to his own, staring within the depth of all that she had been so sure would bring her to an end. She stood, her eyes staring back at his look of suavity. She reached for his face, letting her fingers skim his smooth face. She struck him harshly on the cheek, earning his full attention as she began to let out harried breaths.

Two people; that's all they were, just two people in a motionless battle against the other. They would never give in to the love they had once thought unfeasible. She turned away, her eyes not able to meet his once again; her blithe expression lost its tone as she turned back to him, her eyes dully stating her fear and torment. She let her arms fall motionless, her feet carrying her to his side once again.

"That's all I ever do!" She cried her head shaking as she looked at him in defiance. "Can't you look back at me for once?" She said it in agony as she felt herself pulled to him. She couldn't understand it; her heart was swelling in a way that made her entire presence warm with eager infatuation. She stood unmoving in his arms as he just held her, his arms gently wrapped around her small frame.

Four seconds had passed, and he felt himself begin to let her go, ignoring the pleading look she gave to him as he dropped his arms from her shoulders. "I thought that's what I was doing." He said, leaving the tent as she tore her gaze away and to the floor, her strength giving out as she kneeled to the floor. She had to think things through. She couldn't let him hurt her again. She clutched her hair in two tight fists as she growled in frustrated anger. He wasn't to keen to her, nor at playing pranks. She began to let her mind wander, knowing the signs still stood for his provoke of emotions.

He stood beneath a rather tall tree, watching the surrounding area alight with the moon and stars with which he had watched at the side of a certain pink haired kunoichi at one time. He still remembered the naivety she held at such a young age, her wonderment on life and love aggravating him to no end. He could remember her awkward stance, positioned to attack, but defending with every sense of her being. At that point she was just a simple ninja, not the fighting force she had established in her own self. He wondered if it was he who initiated the change, but thought better of that subject as he ran his hands through his dark black hair.

Twelve times the pain. She had blamed her own self-loyalty on her rejection of Sasuke's further advances. She still sat alone in his tent, awaiting his return. She could hear the others speak of their odd relation, and how they became enemies at a young age only to return to the same team. She held enmity for every word beyond that, the betrayal, the bench, the sheer agonizing anxiety of it all. She was retold the tale of the prodigy, the fox, and the weakling one two many times along her path, and she began to resent the very ideal of it all. She leapt at the entry of Sasuke, his eyes casting a queer look her way.

"Your still here?" He asked his back turning to shield his face from her view. She knew it wasn't out of any emotion. It was her own; she began to wonder just why though. She had professed to a love many thought laughable in her younger years, and found that it only added to the pressure of this moment. She felt like something tight was toiled around her neck, suffocating her from within as she gasped for air already taken. She stood, her arm reaching to further her reach in a rush to touch his warm body. She felt herself trip, and gripped his shirt in a steadying means.

One slip, that's all it took, and the truth was out forever. He looked back at her, her tears now clear to his eyes as he scowled down at her. She subdued her sobs as she stared back, her eyes the only voice to her soul. "Forever," She whispered, his eyebrows knitting together as he looked down at her fatigued figure. "I'll never run." Her word's held no meaning to his brain, but all he knew was his heart was pounding heavier than ever before. He bent down, looking straight into her weary eyes. "I love you more than any other thing in the world!" She sobbed and he was struck with nostalgia as she embraced him, her head cushioned against his shoulder.

"Hn, you're annoying." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her tired body, knowing there'd be hell to pay if he ever did hurt her, but he was willing to take that risk on his own. He pried her hands from his shirt, looking into her eyes as she scowled at him.

One last request; "Can I have my underwear back?" She asked and he smirked, shaking his head in refused confutation. She looked at him in confusion until he crashed his lips to hers, leaning her back onto his freshly lain out sleeping bag. She could only gasp as he trailed his hand up her thigh, her face flushing as she remembered just what her outfit was lacking.

"Never." He said, her moans mixing with the sound of the crackling fire and whispering murmurs of the other ANBU.

_**OWARI**_


End file.
